Hot Toys continues to expand their amazing Iron Man Movie Masterpiece series with their latest release from the second film. After 5 back to back mech version figures, we get the first villain in the series which is long overdue. This time around we get the electrified whip-wielding villain Whiplash played by actor Mickey Rourke.

PACKAGING: The first figure in a series of Iron Man 2 1/6th scale figures comes in a metallic-foiled exterior cardboard sleeve. The front of the outer box features a fantastic image of Whiplash from the film that spreads out to the right outer edge of the sleeve. Hot Toys has also cleverly snuck in a teaser image of the upcoming Black Widow figure on the left edge of the box. It would be great if Hot Toys continues this teaser image trend with every other upcoming figure in the series but that is yet to be seen.

The back of the outer box features several images of the actual product highlighting the amazingly high level of detail of the figure. The inner box consist of a window-box design in the front and a subtle yet elegant back design which features the figureís creative credits and specs.

SCULPT: Once again, Hot Toys has completely blown me away with the amazing detail and quality of this new figure. The likeness of actor Mickey Rourke as Whiplash is captured flawlessly in 1/6th scale by artist Kojun. The facial sculpt features realistic wrinkles and a life-like texture along with amazingly detailed hair. The harness-mounted power suit is perhaps the most incredible accessory ever sculpted by Hot Toys to date. The hydraulic exoskeleton and power suit is an almost identical replica of the prop from the film with its combination of clear hoses, rivets and mechanical arm components. The main body consists of a customized true-type muscular buck. The pants have mechanical components from the suit conveniently attached to the tears over his knees. The boots are identical to the one's Whiplash wears in the film and are extremely detailed as well.

PAINT: The facial paint application by J.C. Hong proves once again why this guy is the modern master of painting when it comes to realistic 1/6head sculpts. Every subtle detail on the head is captured flawlessly by this artistís magical hands from the life-like eyes to the facial hair details. Multi-colored hair strands on the head is painted beautifully and looks identical to Mickey Rourke's hair.

Just like in the film, the body is riddled with extensive tattoo art which looks like it is inked on real flesh. Simply put, the paint work on the Whiplash Movie Masterpiece figure is so impressive that given the right angles and lighting, it is very difficult to tell the difference from photo still from the film and the figure itself.

ARTICULATION: This particular figure consists of over 30 points of articulation making it an extremely versatile piece. The range of movement on the shoulders and biceps is a bit constrained due to the arm attachments from the exoskeleton. Aside from the minor limitations on the upper body, this figure is still extremely versatile and can be placed in numerous dynamic and movie-accurate poses thanks to Hot Toys innovative 1/6th scale bodies.

ACCESSORIES: The true highlight of this particular piece is the movie-accurate exoskeleton and harness-mounted electrical generator which powers up the deadly whips that Whiplash wields in the film. Although the whips themselves do not light up, the generator on the chest does feature a working light that can be switched on or off via a switch located on the battery pack that latches on to the harness belt.

The harness and shoulder straps are made of a material that resembles leather making the piece even more visually appealing due to its organic properties. The piece also includes detachable translucent electrified currents that can be attached to the whips to create a powered-up effect as well. The whips are made of an extremely flexible yet rigid material which allows them to be placed in a vast amount of dynamic styles and even wrapped around Iron Man's various mech suits.

OVERALL: The first Marvel movie villain to be released in the MMS line is a visually exhilarating 1/6th scale piece. If this is any indication of what's yet to come from the remainder of the Iron Man 2 line, I can't wait to get my hands on them. The Hot Toys Iron Man 2 Whiplash figure retails for approximately $170 and is available now through select retailers, such as Bigbadtoystore, Urban-Collector.com, ToyWiz.com, and PastGenerationToys.com.